The Painful Nowning Process

Thunderstruck, “a truck stop for the soul, putting the pop back in culture,” links to several good articles on Christian interpretations of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, especially #7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Also quotes from Rowling’s Dateline interview.

In other news, last night was the final meeting of my summer school “Arthurian Legends” course. It was a pleasure for me to teach, and the students’ final presentations showed that they’ll be taking something useful back to their own classrooms. Thanks!

I’m catching up on work this week after a long weekend on Edisto Island with my in-laws. We enjoyed visiting (including an afternoon with my dad, who drove down from Summerville) and typical beach activities. On the way home, my husband and I and his sister’s family stopped to see the Edisto Island Serpentarium, just in time for the snake show and the alligator feeding. Fun AND educational. We recommend it—at least for those who don’t mind reptiles.

My dad brought a DVD preserving a film made in the mid-70’s (we think) which shows my grandfather’s mobile eye clinics in India. My grandfather died in the late 80’s, but the mobile eye service is still in use in India. What a joy to see him and my grandmother again in this movie—not to mention some footage of my 25-years-younger father. We’ll treasure this bit of family history!

The Arthurian Legends course has left the foundational medieval texts and is moving into the modern era this week, starting with Tennyson’s Idylls of the King.

I’m teaching summer school, as often happens this time of year, only this summer I have the pleasure of teaching one of my favorite courses, “Arthurian Legends,” for our M.Ed. program. We cover the entire history—highlights at any rate—of the origins and development of the legend and literary manifestations of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, from Roman era Britain through the present, and try to figure out its ageless appeal.

Thus, I’m always looking for new versions of these timeless tales, and today I came across a new theatrical production, The Arthur Cycle, by Jeff Berryman. Coming someday to a stage near you, perhaps.

What’s your favorite story about King Arthur?